East Kilbride Athletic Club celebrate 50th anniversary

Nov 25 2009 by Paul Thomson, East Kilbride News

EAST Kilbride Athletic Club celebrated its 50th anniversary last month and in this week’s Sporting Lives their coaching co-ordinator Kenny Clements looks back on the success of the town’s longest running athletics club.

IN 1959 friends John Ballantyne and George Gorman (a teacher at Duncanrig Secondary School) found they shared a common interest in athletics and before they knew it they had put in place the foundations for East Kilbride Athletic Club.

A running track was installed at the new base in The Murray and they welcomed boys and girls aged 14 and over to come and enjoy the track and field events on offer.

Money was tight, though, and club members had to build their own equipment – including hurdles and high jump stands – to save money.

In 1965 the difficulties almost saw the club fold, but they bounced back and showed their first signs of success at District level when junior Alan Trench won the Midland cross country title. In that year the club started organising regular open events with the inaugural EK Road Race, a tradition that has gone on uninterrupted to this day.

But after the trials and tribulations over the last five decades, the club arrived at its 50th anniversary last month and celebrated in style with a party in the Ballerup Hall.

And the special occasion even saw athletes past and present coming from all parts of Scotland and one ex-member coming up from Birmingham for the bash.

The club celebrated with a Civic Reception and ceilidh. In attendance were Provost Russell Clearie, Councillor John Anderson, Councillor Jim Malloy, club founder member John Ballantyne, over 50 ex-members, over 100 current members and also a guest appearance from the recently appointed UK Athletics head of endurance, Ian Stewart.

Awards were also handed out on the night to all the prize winners from the club’s track and field championships and the seniors’ 10-events championships.

But the most notable awards were Athlete of the Year and the Scott Walsh Endeavour Award, which were won by Nicholas Coupland and Jamie Clements, respectively.

It was a great evening for the club and a proud moment for the organisers – one of whom was the club’s coaching co-ordinator Kenny Clements.

A member for 25 years, Kenny has seen a lot of changes at the club but as he looked back on his time there he highlighted one major difference since he started out.

The 47-year-old from Westwood said: “Although the club has always tried to honour the aims in its constitution to cater for all athletic disciplines, all age groups and both sexes, it has sometimes struggled to make that reality.

“There have been several periods when it was predominantly a male adult road running club. However, as the club reached its 50th anniversary it is genuinely diverse, with equal numbers of male and female athletes and an age range of eight to 60 training and competing in sprints, endurance, throws, jumps and hill running.

“And that’s something we can be proud of.”

Over the years there have been many success stories and some of the club’s athletes have gone on to be Scottish champions and, as Kenny recalled, there have been many proud moments.

He said: “In 1978 Iain Campbell became the first club athlete to be selected to compete in a World Championships and we also won the Scottish Track League division two title for the first time.

“George Loney won the first of the club’s many senior Scottish track and field titles in shot putt the following year and in 1984 the club won the EK club of the year title at the East Kilbride Sports Personality awards.”

Other significant moments in the club’s history include when the club moved to its new home at the John Wright Sports Centre in 1989 and in 2003 when the club got a dedicated clubhouse at the track, but Kenny has some significant moments of his own.

He added: “For me, the formation of the EKAC Tartan Army, a squad of dedicated supporters who travel the World annually for the World and European Cross Country Championships, was pretty special.

“It culminated in an all-expenses paid trip to the 2005 London Marathon, courtesy of race director Dave Bedford. That was a fantastic occasion.

From humble beginnings and struggling to keep afloat, East Kilbride Athletic Club has gone on to have a successful life in the town and Kenny hopes the next 50 years are just as good.

He said: “In the future I’m sure East Kilbride Athletic Club will continue to honour the commitments in its constitution, developing the skills, fitness and confidence of young athletes, and contributing in a positive way to the social fabric of East Kilbride.”